Everyone experiences stress, anxiety and even fear. In most cases, people are able to adapt to this anxiety and use it to their advantage as it is often the result of the body and mind warning of something that needs attention. It is the way that our mind and our body tell us that there is something wrong or some action needs to be taken. Some of us, however, go through anxiety that isn't always rational or it interferes with our ability to function. It can be debilitating and, often, as it gets worse, people will do anything to avoid those intense feelings.

We work with clients to help them adapt to, manage and eventually alleviate anxiety. Our approach is routed in the notion of managing physiological reactions, managing cognitive distortions, changing behaviors and exposing people to their fears in the name of decreasing this type of unhelpful anxiety while preserving the type that can be beneficial. This all happens in a supportive and empathic coaching environment. Research has shown that coaching is an effective treatment for anxiety.

We are trained to work with people who are struggling with anxiety that involves identifiable people, activities, events or circumstances, and non-specific anxiety that has a biological basis. Our coaches work to help people relax both their minds and bodies.

Our coaching model has benefited people with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, adjustment disorder and separation anxiety by helping people develop coping skills to avoid unnecessary anxiety and manage situations where they might have to face anxiety.

Our coaching model works with those with forms of anxiety that include compulsions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), agoraphobia and some other specific phobias. For example, a coach might go out to eat with a client who has performs ritualized hand washing and spend time with them as the client sees how long they can go without washing their hands. Coaches might work with a client with a compulsion to make long lists turn those lists into shorter, more functional ones.

We also work with individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder, including war veterans, accident survivors, abuse victims and others. Our coaches have worked hands on with abuse victims in the juvenile justice system who have faced trauma and dealt with subsequent related problems. We have been involved in helping individuals after rapes and accidents identify their traumatic reactions, in some cases helping acute stress disorders not develop into posttraumatic stress disorder, and in other situations helping individuals manage symptoms.

Coaching can also be helpful to those with fears of abandonment, mood-related anxiety and other similar situations.

Anxiety is normal, but when it begins to affect your functioning or lead to a cycle of more stress or paralyzing you, seeking assistance is an important option. Coaching uses evidence-based techniques and treatment methods to help clients overcome anxiety.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Coaching

Obsessions alone often interfere with a person’s ability to function. When combined with compulsions, it can be devastating. Here are the things coaches focus on:

Developing new systems of compulsions that are less harmful to the individual and those around them, and that still cause the obsessions to go away.

Hold the client’s hand as they expose the clients to ideas and experiences that contradict an obsession or compulsion, and see that the things they fear do not happen and that they can have peace ignoring the obsessive voices in their heads.

Help clients identify whether they are using substances to manage their obsessions and compulsions, and come up with better coping mechanisms.

Work with the clients on response prevention techniques that give clients a shot at making the choice to not give in to an obsession and compulsion.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Coaching

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition that is triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and intense anxiety, including uncontrollable thoughts about the events. Our coaches focus on:

Work with clients to identify triggers to their anxious responses.

Helping people recognize the ways of thinking that are keeping people stuck, including negative or inaccurate ways of perceiving normal situations.

Assisting clients in safely facing the things that they find frightening so that they can learn to effectively cope.

Help people develop a social support network that will put them together with others facing similar anxieties.